People for the Ethical Treatment of Werewolves

Episode 2.15: Phases. Original Airdate 1.27.98

"Buffy and her friends discover secrets about themselves as they battle a werewolf, its hunter, and their own emotions."

Daniel's Thoughts:

• Love the continuity with Oz staring and commenting on the cheerleading award. ==>
• “Oh, there, I have my friend…so I will…go to her”.  No one understands the importance of a good ramble like Willow does.
• "1-800-I'm-Dating-A-Skanky-Ho." - HEE
• What is with this show and the fierceness of bunnies? [Have you ever lived with one? Or five? Bunnies are evil. - Z]
• I love that Oz turns into a werewolf based on a tiny bite from his baby nephew.
• The three consecutive nights of moon were a genius way of doing this episode. It’s not like the show can just jump month to month.
• I’m actually surprised this is the first time someone infers an inappropriate relationship between Buffy & Giles but I’m glad the show never really went there. That's for "normal" teen shows.
• Aww, Theresa.
• David B. really knows how to turn on the creep.
• Gosh, Willow & Cordelia commiserating about boys.  It’s like a world without shrimp.  Or...a world with nothing but shrimp.
• He’s a short werewolf cause he’s Oz!
• So Oz wakes up after the second night naked in the woods and realizes something is amiss….but….where did he wake up after the first night?
• Love the surreal normality of the conversation between Oz and his aunt asking about Jordy the baby werewolf.
• Hyenas – more continuity from season 1.
• Aww, Gay Larry is so much sweeter than Straight Larry.
• Coincidental that Theresa turns just when Buffy arrives at the funeral home.  Of course it does make for an awesome scene.  It also furthers my shenanigans that Buffy would have no idea if extreme dead guy in Aura’s locker in the first episode was going to turn or not.
• I like that Oz is being pro-active with the chains.
• I love Buffy’s purple jacket.

• Oz and Willow are so adorable.
• "Three days out of the month, I’m not much fun to be around either."  HEE.

Zelda's Thoughts:

• My brain: OMGOZJUSTKISSHERALREADY
• "You're really mastered the single entendre."
• "She's actually an evil mastermind. It's fun." SG's delivery is just wonderful.
• Buffy's being a really good support-o-friend to Willow, listening to all her boy woes and not throwing her own pity party at all. Our Buffy is the best.
• "I mean, they might not look it, but bunnies can really take care of themselves." Bunnies are EVIL. I'm not saying this to bond with Anya. I'm saying this because I've lived with them and they are EVIL.
• Larry got bit by a dog. MISDIRECTION. Aw, Oz and his tiny bite from his cousin.
• Whee! Buffy is the best. She flips Larry over.
• "Invention of the moon pie." I can't believe Giles laughs. And yet, it's the best thing IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.
• "On behalf of my gender, hey." I'm glad they at least call her out on over-generalizing, even if that is this week's metaphor.
• Giles snooping around all the cars of macking teens: kinda creepy.
• Jack Conley, I never like you. In any of your roles.
• "It's good to get the fruit while it's fresh." Ew.
• I love that Buffy just out and out says they're hunting werewolves. And the reveal that Kane is, too.
• I feel like Kane is a prototype for Jayne. But Adam Baldwin is a far better actor, so his awfulness is somehow charming. See, like "No, I'm in it purely for the money" is a funny line, if said by someone who isn't Jack Conley.
• Angelus, you are really good at seeming harmless and sweet - way better at it than when you were ACTUALLY not evil (see: Welcome to the Hellmouth, when you were a mysterious asshole). Also, you suck for killing Theresa.
• "This is what happens when a woman tries to do a man's job." Ew.
• Showdown between Angelus and OzWolf. Angelus BACKS DOWWWWWWN. Oh, snap.
• I have to say, going from trying to end the world to killing a teenage girl and running away from a werewolf, Angelus seems to be suffering from Second Novel Syndrome.
• GASP OZ IS A WEREWOLF. And has the best reaction ever: "huh." I love Seth Green so hard.
• "I wanted to ask you something - is Jordy a werewolf? Uh huh. And how long has that been going on?" LOVE
• Now it's time for Oz's paranoid tracking hall shot. Will he suddenly attack Buffy like she did him that one time? Oh. No.
• Poor Oz. He should probably come clean now, but I can see why he didn't do it, since he walked in on Buffy talking about killing the wolf, but ... basically, he should say something, and he didn't.
• "But while we hang around here, doing nothing, there's a human werewolf walking around out there, probably making fun of us." // "The way werewolves always do." I don't know why this made me laugh so hard.
• I like Larry so much more once he starts liking himself. Yay Gay!Larry! And then he's even all sweet, telling Xander he won't out him.
• NO BUFFY NO. She's advising Willow to make the first move. The last time she gave Willow relationship advice, she almost got killed by a vampire. Now's she's going to almost get killed by a werewolf. Buffy should never give advice ever.

Quit while you're ahead, B.

• "Buffy, you can't blame yourself for every death that happens in Sunnydale. If it weren't for you, people'd be lined up five deep waiting to get themselves buried." We'll see how true this is next season. I'm glad Xander recognizes that now, and tells her.
• "Angel sends his love." Oh, that's cold.
• And now, just to confuse us all more, the awkward exit from the hug of Buffy and Xander, never to referenced again.
• Awww, Kane uses a Bunsen burner to make his silver bullets. Science!
• Um. Wherrrrrre did Oz get the old-timey-looking shackles? And why were they in an old cardboard box? I do NOT want to know about his parents' private life.

• See, the mid-transition werewolf makeup is okay. It's the gorilla suit final product I'm less kicked on. ==>
• Man, Willow, Yellow was the wrong color overalls to wear for a chase in the woods. It's called planning ahead.
• "How exactly do we find this thing?" // "It's Oz! It's Oz!" Easiest detective work ever.
• "I shot Oz." I love you Willow. Also that was awesome.
• Buffy make the gun go bendy. Buffy is the best.
• See? Gay!Larry is even nicer to girls. Yay growth! I wish Xander weren't so freaked out about being thought gay. It's partly a 90s thing, where all of Television thought it was "funny" when a guy panicked about being presumed gay, but it wasn't actually funny then and at least it's not as in vogue to do that now. The best I can pawn it off is to say that teens freak out about being presumed different in ANY way, and that I can relate to. I just wish ... yeah. No.[Word ~D]
• The final scene of Willow and Oz!!! !I love it to teeny tiny widdle bits.
• "You are quite the human." Quite a specific and apt compliment in this town.
• "I'd still. I'd very still."
• It was nice of them to give us such a sweet ending after the PAIN and SAD of Innocence.

  

Crossfire!

Z: Introduction of the worst werewolf costume ever.

D: Aw it's not that bad.

Z: It's pretty bad.

D: Yeah, it's pretty bad.

Larry, with the wrong emphasis: What do you want, hush money?
D & Z: Hush MONEY?!??!

D: What IS that?

Z: I hate when it's so obvious an actor doesn't understand the phrase they're using.

Favorite Lines:

Daniel: "I didn't jump. I took a tiny step, and there conclusions were." - Buffy (I've used this before)

Zelda: "Buffy told me that sometimes what a girl makes has to be the first move and now that I'm saying this, I'm starting to think that the written version sounded pretty good ..." - Willow

90s Factoid:

Cordelia's Tommy Hilfiger sweater.

Hackysack was a thing.

Arc/Continuity Stuff:

• Oz is looking at the cheerleading trophy, in which Amy's psychotic mother is trapped.
• Larry's second appearance, in which he is a raging misogynist. And then gay.
• Our first werewolf story. Also, in this mythology, werewolves turn on the three nights around the full moon, not just the night itself. 
• Buffy, Willow, Oz, Cordelia, Xander, and Larry all have gym together. Not Jonathan though. Loser.
• Xander is pretending his time as a hyena will help him uncover the wolf, but he's still pretending he doesn't remember any of that. Because Xander is a stupid teenage boy.
• Also, Oz is a werewolf.

Stats:

Voiceover - Giles

Oz's Hair - Brown

Dead Humans - 1

Dead Undeads - 1

Giles Unconscious - 0

Giles Cleans His Glasses - 0 

Buffy Breaks a Door - 0

Evil Reveal - 1 (Oz, sort of)

Unevil Reveal - 2 (Larry is gay, not a wolf. Oz, because he didn't kill Theresa.)

Shenanigans Called - 0

Apocalypse Called - 0